


The Terrible Truth

by angstonwheels



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Albus Dumbledore Bashing, BAMF Harry Potter, Death Eaters, Evil Albus Dumbledore, F/F, F/M, Gay, Ginny Weasley Bashing, Good Death Eaters, Good Tom Riddle, Good Voldemort (Harry Potter), M/M, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Molly Weasley Bashing, Multi, One-Sided Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ron Weasley Bashing, Sane Bellatrix Black Lestrange, Sane Tom Riddle, Sane Voldemort (Harry Potter), Severitus | Severus Snape is Harry Potter's Parent, Top Harry, Voldemort is Harry Potter's Parent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:08:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28515438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angstonwheels/pseuds/angstonwheels
Summary: You have probably heard the story of Harry Potter and how he defeated the Dark Lord. How he was the savior of the wizarding world. I can assure you that whatever you have heard is not the truth.  Harry never married Ginny. He was never friends with Hermione and Ron. His parents certainly weren't Lily and James. And he most definitely isn't the Boy-Who-Lived.
Relationships: Fabian Prewett/Gideon Prewett/Arthur Weasley, Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape/Voldemort
Comments: 7
Kudos: 85





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The prologue is much shorter than the rest so yeah...

No matter how hard he tried he could not get that damn baby to shut his mouth. Now don't get me wrong Tom loved his child with all his heart, but if he screamed again he might not have a child anymore. He groaned rolled out of his silk sheet bed and walked into the nursery across the hall. The child's other father would usually be doing this but he is currently working for an idiot scheming on how to take said idiot out. 

The nursery was painted a dark green. His son's crib was black oak with diamonds in strategic places. There were various books and toys scattered around the room.

Tom was lost in thought but was quickly snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his sons cries again. He went over to his son and picked his up out of the crib. Tom was slightly awkward around the child still, even though he was almost a year old. But Tom never had much experience with children so he didn't know exactly what to do. 

One thing he did know was that even though this kid was annoying as hell, Tom would love him till the day he died (if it ever happened that is). He also knew that his child was very hungry. So he pulled out his wand and whipped up some formula, tested it on his arm to make sure it wasn't to hot. He feed it to his son. Once he was done he burped him. When he was about to put his son into his crib. He looked up to Tom giggled and said in a small voice "Dada." His talking wasn't great yet, but he was perfect to Tom.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We peek into the childhood of our protagonist.

** Age 3 1/2: **

It was in the middle of the summer, at the Riddle household. The only people there were Tom and his son. The child's mother was busy working for a way to take down a terrible man.

“Get back here brat!” Tom yelled chasing his son, Hayden Salazar Damian Riddle. 

“You can’t catch me!” Hayden giggled running away with a ring in his hand. 

“That ring is very valuable and very dangerous!” Tom was losing his nerve with this child, Severus was always better with Hayden

“But it’s shinyyyyyy!” Hayden stopped running to look at the ring. It had a gold band with a diamond shaped gen. On the gem there was a line and circle and a triangle. Hayden being no younger than four didn’t understand what the shapes meant. 

“Do you want to see what that ring does?” Tom didn’t exactly want to show what the terrible ring did. But this was a good way to teach his son a lesson.

“Yes! Please!” Hayden exclaimed, making sure to use his manners. Tom crouched down and held out his hand. Hayden gave it to his father. 

Tom took the ring and slid it onto his finger. It did nothing for a few seconds. Hayden deflated a little bit. 

Then the tips of Tom’s fingers start to turn black and ashy. V gasps and his eyes start to water. The top of his fingers start to fall away into ashes. Hayden starts sobbing. Tom, who was entranced by what the ring was doing. Gets snapped out of his dream-like state when he hears his son's cries. 

He realized that it was his fault his son was crying and he removed the ring. He then placed it on the ground. 

"Do you now see why I didn't want you playing with it?" Tom asked kindly using his powers of wandless magic to make his fingers whole again. 

Hayden nodded frantically, his tears drying. He launched himself into his father's arms. His face into his shoulder and neck area. 

There was snot in Toms robes but couldn't bring himself to care. He hugged his son. "I'm sorry." Hayden whispered, almost tearing up again. 

"No, I'm sorry. I am sorry you had to see that young one." Tom whispered. He vowed to never hurt his son like that again. 

**Age 5:**

Hayden was done with his home lessons for the day. He decided that he was going outside and play in the backyard. 

He went to the backyard and got a ball from the shed that they had. The ball was a dark crimson, blood color if you will. Hayden loved it because of said color, when he first got it he was sad it wasn't green. Now though, it has become one of his favorite items.

He put the ball on the ground getting ready to kick it around, when he heard a noise from the bushes. 

He went to investigate, there he found a black snake. The snakes' scales were glittering under the sunlight. Hayden smiled and asked, “What is your name little guy?” 

“ _ I do not have one insulent human, and I am not little. That is no way to talk to the King of Snakes. I am among the biggest snakes of my kind. Why am I even talking if you don’t understand me.”  _ The snake hissed. Hayden was confused because he could in fact, understand the snake.

“ _ Sorry for insulting you sir, you are quite magnificent. What type of snake are you? Can I name you? Also I do understand you, can’t everyone?”  _ Harry hissed back not even noticing he was speaking parseltongue. If snakes could look shocked it was what the snake’s face was. 

“ _ You are forgiven. Thank you. I am a Mexican Black Kingsnake. I wouldn’t mind a name I guess, but it must be regal. I haven’t spoken in a very long time so I assume not. Why do you ask so many questions anyway?”  _ The snake said, starting to trust the small boy more. 

_ “I have the perfect name for you Asclepius. In case you were wondering, that is the name of the God of Snakes. My name is Hayden Salazar Damian Riddle. I ask questions because I don’t talk to anyone besides my parents and the house elves. And I want to know as much as I can for the future. Plus everyone could get smarter.”  _ Hayden said, rambling a bit. 

“ _ I like the name and I believe it suits me. It is nice to meet you Hayden and I hope we can be friends. Because you seem to be the only human with any common sense.”  _ Asclepius said with humor in his tone. Hayden laughs at the joke. 

“ _ It’s nice to meet you too.I would love to be your friend” Hayden says  _ smiling.

__ Tom was not sure about Asclepius but because it made his son so happy he decided it would be okay for him to keep him as a pet. 

**Age 7:**

"Please father may I go to real school?" Hayden asked his father using his manners, no manners meant no power. And without power there was nothing, that was the Riddle way. Even though his father was stricter than his mother, he knew that both of his parents loved him very much. Even though Severus was a man, he liked to be called mother, it confused Hayden a little.

"You know you can't." Tom told him, it hadn't been the first time his son asked. Despite being so young Hayden was very smart and used small amounts of wandless magic. Even though he was smart doesn't mean he doesn't mean he doesn't want to make friends. 

"What about when I am 11? Will I be able to go to Hogwarts?" Hayden asked with hope filling his eyes. His only friends so far were a couple of house elves and Asclepius. Don't get me wrong Hayden loved talking to Asclepius and playing with the elves. But he wants human friends like they have in books.

"If you can persuade me by then I will consider letting you attend Hogwarts. But you must convince me, and I will not be swayed easily." Tom said face cold, but deep down he knew he would have to let go of his son, he couldn't hold on to him forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted Chapter 1 of the Terrible Truth. In the future I probably won't be updating as much because of school but I will try my hardest. Have a good day/night my potatoes.


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hayden is 11 and that's all you need to know.

Hayden, after months of begging and persuasion, managed to convince his father to let him go to Hogwarts. One of his main points was that his mother would be there to keep his eye on him.

When Hayden finally reached the ripe age of age 11 his father, his mother, and he all wore disguise’s down to Knockturn and Diagon Alley. They first stopped at The Bleeding Scepter, to get Hayden a wand. They knew that Olivander was loyal to Dumb-as-a-door, even though they were in disguise’s they could be too sure. They walked in and saw a man with moving tattoos sitting on a black stool, looking bored.

“We would like to make a wand,” Tom said, trying to be polite as a Dark Lord can. See this was a special shop, you could create a wand from scratch. It cost more and took more time but it was the best wand shop in the area.

“Oh?” The man at the counter deadpanned. Tom’s eyes turned red for a second, trying to refrain himself from killing the man.

“Can we just get onto it?” Severus asked, seeing his husband's eye changing colors.

“Come over here, young one. Put your hand over each core. Whichever calls to you the most is the one we are using in the wand.” The man --which we now identified as Carl from his name tag-- said.

Hayden passed his hand over the core slowly. He felt a pull to two of them, he pointed to them and said, “I feel connected to these two.”

Carl’s eyes widened slightly, not enough to be noticeable though. “This one is Dragon Heartstring. It is used in some of the most powerful wands in time and is often used for Dark Arts. This other one is Phoenix Feather. It is the rarest type of core, they are usually very picky about who their owners are.” Carl explained. “We can use both, but it would cost longer and take more time to make.”

“Next is the wood,” Carl said, gesturing to the wood, there were over 10 types of these.

Hayden pointed to two types of woods. “These have the strongest pulls.”

“The first one is Yew Wood. This is most known for being in The Dark Lord’s wand. It is common for someone practicing the Dark Arts. The second one is blackthorn. Also known for Dark Arts users. Having Blackthorn and practicing the Dark Arts are known as a dangerous pair.” Carl said, mildly surprised that the young boy's wand contained so much potential for darkness.

“I would like a Blackthorn handle and a Yew top part,” Hayden said, double-checking with his mother if it was okay.

“It’s going to take about four hours since it has a different top than the bottom. It will cost 85 gallons.” Carl said, his voice and body posture went back to bored.

Tom grabbed his Gringotts credit card, which only the richest elites have. Carl tried not to look surprised.

“Charge it to this,” Tom said dismissively. Carl waved his wand, charging the card. Tom then put away the card.

“Come back in four and half-ish hours, it should be ready then,” Carl said, but the unusual family had already left the shop.

The Riddle family made their way to The Skeleton Closet for robes. Madame Dune, the owner of the shop, took Hayden to the back to be measured.

Tom and Severus struck up a conversation about what house Hayden would be in. Neither minded what house it was, as long as he was happy.

“My bets on Slytherin,” Tom said casually, after all, Hayden was a descendant of Salazar Slytherin himself.

“I say Ravenclaw, if not Slytherin.” Severus agreed, he knew his son was a very smart young man. But he also knew the times he pranked his Aunt Bella and got away with it.

“Wanna bet on it?” Tom asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes. He also wore his signature smirk.

“I have a feeling I can’t say no,” Severus uttered, he almost looked annoyed.

“You don’t. Let’s say if I win you have to put on a pair of heels and strut around the manor, acting like a Karen. Then once you’ve done this for 15 minutes, floo to the Malfoy Manor and do the same.” Tom almost laughed as he divulged what the stakes were.

Severus had a scared expression but quickly tried to hide it away. He cleared his throat and spoke with a slight blush “And if I win, you have to put on makeup and a revealing outfit. Then proceed to do the single ladies dance in front of me, Lucius, Cissa, Bella, Barty, and Rabastan.”

Tom knew he was going to win but shuddered at the idea of doing that in front of his inner circle. 

Hayden finally came out with a large bag, and new robes on. They paid and quickly made their way to The Raven’s Quill. It was a place to get quills, ink, cauldron; basic materials. The shop itself was very cluttered, but that meant he could have lots of options on styles. Hayden picked out an ombre blue and green feather pen, that was self-inking. They finished up in the store rather quickly.

Tom and Hayden waited outside while Severus made a swift trip into Cures and Curses, a mini potion shop. It sold ingredients mainly and you had to have a license to get some items. It was a small shop in between two giant buildings, the inside was humid and almost foggy. Severus wanted to spend time with his son before not getting as much time with him, but he needed these items.

By the time Severus was done, it was lunchtime and everyone was hungry. They bee-lined to The Siren’s Song, a pub/restaurant. They talked for almost an hour when they realized they needed to get going or they were going to be late for their meeting with Bella.

After they had their lunch they went to get their books at The Glowing Pegasus. Hayden got all of the recommended books;

  * The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk

  * A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

  * Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

  * A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

  * One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

  * Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

  * Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

  * The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble




He wanted to learn more than that, he wanted to learn more about the Dark Arts. There were enough books at the Riddle Manor but he wanted some that his father couldn’t track. He made sure that none of them were inside the library. When he went into the Dark Arts section he saw a boy with bright blonde hair.

The blonde looked up when he heard footsteps, he saw a cute boy with brown -almost black- hair. Draco immediately wanted to be his friend.

“What are you doing over here? I am here to get some to read up on.” Draco said trying not to be too interested in the boy next to him.

“I don’t think it’s any of your business why I am here.” The boy retorted, emerald eyes skimming over the titles.

Draco was a little offended, but also slightly impressed, “That’s fair. I like you, my name’s Malfoy, Draco Malfoy.”

The boy didn't show any emotion like people did when they heard his last name. “Hayden Riddle.” Draco heard the name before but couldn’t put a finger on it.

Lucius looked around for his son, he would be the death of him. He turned the corner and saw his son talking with a young boy. He quickly realized it was the young lord and froze. Despite being older than him and knowing him personally, showing any disrespect would probably get him killed.

Hayden glanced behind Draco and saw Lucius, they had met on multiple occasions. “Hello, Lucius,” Harry said, tone sounding bored. Draco was shocked, he didn’t know Hayden knew his father. But then again they had just met a couple of minutes ago.

“Hello, Young Lord,” Lucius said quietly, not wanting to attract attention. Draco was shocked, he had heard about the boy before but he had never met him.

“Refrain from calling me that in public Lucius.” Hayden looked almost bored.

“Sorry sir,” Lucius cringed at calling someone younger than him ‘sir’. Tom came around the corner with Severus in tow.

“Hey Sev, Dark Lord,” Lucius said, happy to see his friends. They chatted for about half an hour before the Riddles had to go.

Hayden just made his first human friend.

They got to their final destination: Doves and Pigeons, an exotic animal pet shop. Its name may seem harmless but it was very dangerous.

Hayden had Asclepius but he knew that Asclepius hated the term ‘pet’ and enjoyed exploring on his own, so he was looking for a more permanent option.

The bell chimed as their family made their way into a rather large shop. Hayden walked around taking looks at each animal carefully. In a darker corner, he came across a larger cage. He squinted because the cage was dark, in the corner he saw two panther cubs. One as white as milk and the other as dark as night. They were curled up together, keeping the other one warm. There was a sign on the cage that said;

**WARNING DANGEROUS~~~~~WILL BITE YOU!~~~~~ KEEP AWAY UNLESS YOU WISH TO BUY**

Hayden felt pity for the small animals. He very quickly made his way over to his parents and got their attention.

“I would like those.” He said, voice quiet. He wanted them but he didn't know if he was allowed to have two of them. Tom and Severus looked at each other having a silent conversation. They looked at him and nodded. Hayden smiled.

He bounded over, ignoring the sign, and just picked them up. It was probably something that he was not allowed to do, but he didn’t care. The cats looked at him with warmth immediately, they loved him as soon as they saw him. They didn't claw or bite when he picked them up, which is a good sign.

He found out that one was a girl and one was a boy. The shopkeep was shocked, to say the least, but was happy to get rid of them. They were placed in a carrier, which was handed over to Tom. As the Riddle family left the shop to head home, they asked Hayden what he would like to name them.

He didn't say anything for five minutes. “I think Freya for her and Legend for him.”

They made their way home to get ready for their meeting with Bella. Who knows what chaos could ensure. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also sorry for the long wait, my uncle passed and I finally had the motivation to write. 
> 
> Hayden's Wand: 
> 
> https://www.google.com/search?q=yew+wand+with+blackthorn+handle&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwj7mo2PyrruAhVL6VMKHeMJBsAQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=yew+wand+with+blackthorn+handle&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzoECCMQJ1DPeVignQFg354BaABwAHgAgAF0iAGGDpIBBDE0LjWYAQCgAQGqAQtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZ8ABAQ&sclient=img&ei=d44QYLuDMMvSzwLjk5iADA&bih=547&biw=1242&rlz=1CAEURD_enUS886#imgrc=PLMjMzVJOjIR-M


End file.
